


Tell Me What Drives You

by bruhidekanymore



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, DNF, I'll add more characters later, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, bruh how do people write, dreamnotfound, dude idk how tags work, dw sapnap will be happy too, i swear this wont end sad, kinda sad sapnap?, no beta we die like real men, not a coffee shop au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:41:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28856757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bruhidekanymore/pseuds/bruhidekanymore
Summary: Dream drives an hour to college almost everyday and one day he decides to hang out at a cafe near his college on a Saturday. There’s a guy sitting next to him, and his laptop dies. He isn’t bad looking either. Welcome to a mediocrely written slow-burn dnf fic, with some angst in between. Also, this isn't a coffee shop au, it just takes place there at first :]
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Dnf - Relationship, dreamnotfound - Relationship
Comments: 16
Kudos: 40





	1. Cable Cords

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh, first time writing dnf, this wasn't supposed to happen, sorry if some things seem off, but enjoy! Also, if Dream or George ever express any discomfort with fanfiction, I will take this down without question since I respect their wishes. Dream and George as of now have expressed they're comfortable with it. have fun reading :]

The drive from Orlando to Tampa Bay was surprisingly more tranquil than sitting in an air conditioned room on a muggy Monday evening. Cars would pass by at a steady pace, as light music filtered the air with noise just to keep the ride from being too mind-numbing. Dream enjoyed the rides to and from his house, even if they felt agonizingly long from time to time. Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he’d drive for over an hour, sometimes even longer, to get to his college. He realized later on it probably would’ve been smarter just to dorm there, but he didn’t want to deal with the pressure of having to meet new people and being forced to get along with someone in a small space. He had enough siblings to worry about getting along with others. Saturdays were one of his free days, and the one day he usually chose to relax on, since the majority of the time he was nose deep in books, trying his best to understand what was happening in his classes. Most of the time Dream would nod off in class or his mind would slip into a completely different place, forgetting he had to regard what the professor was teaching in front of him. 

This Saturday, he decided to make his way to a café that he frequently visited after finishing a class for the day. He had let his work pile up, and his computer was running slow at his house once again - something he noted to fix later. Laptop in tow with necessary items to complete his schoolwork, he ventured to that café, remembering that it meant he’d have to drive an hour to get there. Dream was aware that it was possibly the stupidest decision to make, having to endure an hour long trip to a café just because he enjoyed the calming atmosphere and knew that the internet connection was stable. Luckily, the drive felt very short this time around, his eyes transfixed on the road and mind slightly wandering to think about how he would divide up his time to complete some assignments. Upon arriving, he paid for a drink and took his seat in the far left hand corner, since the outlets were gathered in four corners of the café. 

The majority of his work was just tedious which made the assignments take a longer time to complete, as Dream’s fingers hit the keyboard at a rapid pace, pausing every so often to move the mouse cursor. He’d forgotten entirely about the hot chocolate he had that was resting next to him, half drunken and already setting in with the cold, untasteful texture. He got up from his seat, grabbing the now soiled drink and tossed it in the trash can, realizing he just wasted two dollars for nothing. On his way back to his seat, he realized that someone had sat down close by to him. Dream had never seen him before, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of him either. He had to be shorter than him, his brown hair falling in his eyes every so often as he focused on the laptop in front of him, a finger coming up to swipe his hair out of the way. Dream tried to refocus his attention, accidentally bumping into the small table with his laptop on it, gathering a few wandering eyes on him as he did so. The man with the brown hair with dark eyes to match was one of the few wandering eyes, and Dream immediately fixed his gaze on his laptop, despite not remembering what he was doing. He tried to shake the thought from his mind. Besides, this was the only Saturday he had decided to come here. Dream thought to himself quietly that he’d probably never see him again. 

That was up until he heard an exasperated huff come from the rather attractive man next to him. Of course, this caught Dream’s attention, and looked over curiously to see why he was in distress. The screen of his laptop had darkened and the person next to him had a look of annoyance painting his face, eyebrows furrowed slightly and a frown pulling his lips downward. He placed his cheek in his hand and stared at the black screen with disappointment, pushing his hair out of his face with his free hand. Dream watched as he rummaged through a school bag, trying to look for what Dream assumed was a charger. Nothing was taken out of the bag and Dream realized that meant he probably didn’t have one. He studied his laptop for a moment, realizing they had the same one, and with almost no hesitation, Dream stuck his hand into his backpack and pulled out the charger he had. He leaned over a little, and tapped his shoulder lightly. 

“Hey uh, you can borrow mine, if you want?” Dream said in almost a whisper. 

The only noise heard in the café was the droning, mind-numbing music that was playing in a low volume, so Dream didn’t want to be too loud. He gave Dream a small smile, averting his eyes and then looking back into Dream’s. Dream felt his face gradually get warmer, a subtle beating sound filling his head. 

“You really don’t have to,” the man said to him shyly. 

His eyes had a softness to it that caused some sort of intensity within Dream’s chest. 

“It’s fine, I probably won’t be leaving for a while anyway, and mine is charged,” Dream insisted. 

He took the laptop charger from his hands cautiously, his fingertips grazing against the palm of Dream’s hand. Dream suppressed a smile from forming on his face, figuring it might be creepy if he were to gain some sort of enjoyment from a pretty stranger using his laptop charger. Pretty. That was the word Dream would probably use to describe him. He didn’t know why, but it seemed fitting for him. He took note of the accent that left his lips with the words he said. There was no way he actually lived here. Building up some more courage, after the stranger plugged in the charger to the outlet and ran the cord back to his laptop, Dream inquired more about him. 

“Your accent, you’re British right?” 

The man laughs softly. 

“Yes, I just moved here,” he explains. 

Dream is silent for a moment. Suddenly, he was really eager to learn more about this person. Maybe it was the awkward flow of conversation or the hot chocolate settling in his stomach, but he was interested in whoever he was. 

“Oh, that’s cool. How do you like it here so far?” Dream continues. 

“It’s nice, except for the weather. I’m not used to the humid air yet,” the man replies. 

“Yeah, it’s kinda annoying.” 

A silence washes over the two for a moment. 

“I’ve only been here for about a month now, but I’ve never seen you here before,” the man says to him, a small, content smile playing on his lips. 

“Probably because my school schedule doesn’t require me to be in Tampa on Saturdays. I live like an hour away from here,” Dream admits. 

The statement makes the stranger elicit another laugh. His laugh was oddly comforting. 

“Then why drive here today?” 

“Wi-Fi at my house was bad and I like this place so the drive was worth it,” Dream admits. 

“Hm, I see.” 

Dream looks over at his laptop, suddenly aware that it was now turned on but that the person sitting beside him wasn’t facing towards it. Instead, he’d been facing towards Dream, his cheek resting in his hand, head sideways with eyes full of interest. 

“I should probably ask before I forget, I am borrowing your charger after all, so what’s your name?” the stranger asks him. 

“My name’s Clay but a lot of my friends call me Dream. Pick your poison, I’m fine with either,” Dream explains. 

“Dream. Why Dream?” he asks him. 

“Gamer tag, but it’s become a nickname” he admits shyly. 

He earns another laugh from him. 

“Well, I’m George,” he says, smiling softly. 

“I’ll definitely remember that,” Dream says, “I do kinda need my charger back after all.” 

George smiles at Dream, the laptop screen slowly darkening from inactivity. They carry on a conversation for a couple of hours, learning that they don’t go to the same college but that both were close by to the café. They both had similar interests and learned obscure likes and dislikes about one another. Dream talking about the one time he woke up late for class and when he stumbled into the class, he tripped over himself and turned a couple heads in the process. George explaining his experience with living in America so far and how awkward some of his experiences have been when talking to people. Without realization, the moon replaced the sun and the people inside the café disappeared slowly. The café was open until midnight, and it was just about nearing that time when Dream checked his phone. Dream’s laptop had died about two hours ago, and George never returned to doing his work. 

“Weren’t you supposed to be finishing a paper?” Dream commented through breathy laughs. 

“It’s fine, it’s not due until…” he pauses to check his phone, “almost exactly a day from now. I’m nearly finished anyways.”

“Speaking of almost a day, it’s about to be midnight,” Dream says. 

George cocks his head in confusion, picking his phone up again and realizing that Dream was right. 

“Oh shit, have we really been talking for that long?” George asks, placing his phone back down on the table. 

Dream nods his head and laughs. The employee behind the counter looked exhausted from having to sit there, waiting for both of them to leave. 

“How long have we even been talking for?” Dream asked him.

“I don’t know uh, since like seven or eight?” George says, checking his phone again in disbelief as the time raced to midnight. 

“What?!” Dream says rather loudly. 

The two look around the café, laughing quietly in realization that they were the only people there, not including the rather annoyed-looking barista. The sound of Dream’s voice echoed off of the walls and their laughter dissipated. 

“That’s like five to six hours,” Dream continues, lowering his voice substantially. 

George nods his head, laughter filling the air once more. 

“I hadn’t realized either. I should probably give you this back though,” George says, turning around and grabbing something from behind him. 

His voice trailed off for a second while he grabbed the object, and the moment he turned back around, the laptop cord was resting in his hands, bunched up neatly. He put his hand out for Dream to take the cord, palms brushing against the others for a split second. 

“Thank you, I actually forgot about this for a bit,” Dream admits, grabbing the cord and putting it back in his backpack. 

“It’s a good thing I remembered then,” George quips lightly. 

“We should probably get going though because um…” Dream trails off, motioning subtly to the bored looking barista waiting at the counter. 

George nods his head, packing his stuff away and Dream follows in the same actions. The barista sighed with relief, audible to both the men as they suppressed laughter, smirks gradually growing on their faces. Pushing in chairs and grabbing their bags, they both stood up and made their way outside of the café. A light wind picked up and blew both of their hair into their faces, causing both to smile awkwardly. Silence settled between the two of them, unspoken words hanging in the air. Dream wanted to be able to talk to him again, to learn more about him and possibly become friends. Though, friends isn’t where he wanted to stop at either.

“Um, hey, can I give you my discord?” Dream asked, trying to feign mock-confidence. 

The way he went about asking for a way to keep in contact with George made Dream cringe at himself. He realized he could’ve just exchanged this earlier while they were still in the café, with the warm air surrounding them, along with light-hearted laughter. 

“Yeah sure,” George says, as he takes out his phone and places it in Dream’s hand, the discord app opened. 

Quickly, Dream types in his name with the number and hands it back to George. 

“I’ll be sure to add you back when I get in my car,” Dream says, smiling casually as he realizes how weird this exchange must’ve been. The lights inside the café start dimming, with the barista shutting off lights and cleaning counters in the background. One by one, the area around them starts to dim with the cool, autumn air surrounding them. 

“I’m sure I’ll see you around,” George says, offering a wide smile. 

“Yeah, hopefully,” Dream says, a tinge of disappointment and hope mixing with his words. 

George walked off in a separate direction, down the block to wherever his home was. Dream watched the brunette walk down the cracked sidewalk, getting smaller as the distance enveloped him into the night’s darkness. He turned to walk to his car when George was no longer in his sight. Opening up the door and sliding into the driver’s side seat, Dream turned on his car, waiting for it to warm up. He picked up his phone to access discord and accepted George’s friend request the moment he opened up the app. Placing his phone back down in the console, he started his drive back to Orlando. Some music he put on was drowned out instantly by the flood of thoughts that encapsulated his mind surrounding one person. And funnily enough, Dream noted something very obscure.

_ He was shorter than me. _


	2. Hitting The Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream goes back to the café again despite not having any work and somehow, he ends up at a library talking with George.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some angst is starting now, but not on the dnf half...you'll see. also, i was trying to get this out earlier but i got lazy and tired so yeah. also, i don't mind if this fanfic is mentioned on social media platforms, but please try not to mention to cc's. thank you and enjoy! :]

There was absolutely no logical reason behind why he sat in his car once again, driving to the same café on a Saturday. Dream didn’t have any work for classes to do, nor was his Wi-Fi being horrifically slow. Yet, his fingers gripped the steering wheel, looking out into the road which was semi-crowded with traffic, as he made his way to that stupid café once again. Dream didn’t want to admit to himself that there was possibly some hidden meaning behind it, instead vouching for the viable excuse of wanting to try and get ahead on schoolwork. He wasn’t going to overthink what was happening, and just follow through with his impulsive thoughts this time around. In the back of his mind, he knew why he was there, but didn’t dare acknowledge it for a second. Taking a seat in the back corner again, the same spot as last time, he mindlessly clicked around on his laptop, trying to figure out something to do.

It wasn’t long before the shorter brunette arrived at the café, which Dream took notice of but decided to not get up to say anything just yet. Thinking to himself, Dream knew this probably seemed creepy, considering he never comes to this café on the weekends just for fun. Granted, he had other days he was free but Saturdays were becoming special to him. Dream knew he could’ve just contacted him on discord, say a simple hey or even send something funny, but as soon as Dream got home last Saturday, he fell right asleep. Typically, he could stay up longer, but given how much he had talked and how long he had driven for, he didn’t _ want _ to stay up any longer. So he opted for texting him the next day but got distracted by needing to finish school work. And the days went on with Dream being too busy to actually get in contact with the stranger he met at the café. 

He could’ve gone about this a better way, but something about going to a quaint coffee shop and staying there until nearly midnight was comforting to Dream. Especially when he was talking to that person. So when the stranger with the soft eyes and small smile approached him, he was a little surprised. 

“Oh, hey Dream,” he said, the small smile never faltering from his lips. 

He liked the way George said his name, even if it wasn’t his  _ actual _ name. 

“Hey George,” Dream responds, offering a smile back. 

“I’m guessing your Wi-Fi wasn’t cooperating again,” George assumes, taking a seat next to Dream. 

“Yeah, I should honestly get that fixed,” he lies successfully. 

George sits down next to him, the same spot as last time, but Dream knows he should try and refrain from distracting him this time around. The task proves to be difficult though, seeing as George continued the conversation. 

“Well, why haven’t you?” he asks, making a confused facial expression towards his laptop screen that was meant to be directed at Dream. 

Dream watches as his fingers hit each key on the keyboard at an impressive speed, almost rhythmically so. 

“I don’t know, just haven’t gotten around to it, I guess,” Dream says, turning his attention away from his laptop completely. 

He had no obligations to attend to on his laptop anyways, so there was no point in acting as if he did right now. 

“You must be pretty busy then,” George comments. 

“Oh, I’m not  _ that _ busy,” Dream stresses the word ‘that’. 

George turns his attention away from his laptop screen, hands drifting off the keys and looks into Dream’s eyes. 

“So, if you’re not that busy, let’s do something,” George asks politely. 

Dream tilts his head to the side, confused for a moment. George backtracks, stuttering and messing up his words. 

“I-I mean, if you want to, t-that is. That was a bit straightforward of me” he clarifies, his voice getting smaller with each word that comes out of his mouth, gradually turning into a mumble. 

Dreams laughs, “Well, I’m gonna take you up on your offer now then, so let’s go.” 

“Wait, now?” George inquires. 

“Yeah, let’s go. Grab your stuff, and we can go somewhere else,” Dream responds, standing up and putting his things away. 

_ There goes not distracting him _ , Dream thought to himself. Packing his things away and standing up alongside him, George follows Dream out of the cafe. The barista - the same person as last time - rolls his eyes, and tightens the white bandana around his forehead, while he watches as Dream stows a glance in his direction. The crisp fall air falls upon both of their faces and George turns to face towards Dream. 

“Where do you have in mind?” George says, following the direction in which Dream was walking. 

“You’ll see,” Dream remarks cockily. 

Arriving at Dream’s car, he opens the driver seat door and unlocks the other side for George to get into the passenger seat. Though it’s only fall, the seats hold the coldness from outside and the silence between the two of them is nearly deafening. The only thing heard is the start of the car engine abruptly breaking the silence, and the heat flooding the car starts to fog the windows lightly. Dream was usually never distracted when driving but the presence of George next to him was oddly weighing on his thoughts. Every now and again he looked over to see him staring out the window, the autumn sun casting on his face that made his eyes light up brightly, but also caused him to squint from the intensity. 

“I’m surprised you stopped asking questions. I thought you would continue to ask where we were going,” Dream tries to start a conversation. 

“Oh, well I mean, I was the one to suggest going somewhere.”   
“And you’re not afraid I’m gonna like, kidnap you or something,” Dream says emphasizing his last few words along with a laugh and stowing a glance over at George. 

“Well let’s hope not, otherwise you’ve foiled your plan,” George mocks playfully.

The car falls silent again, but it’s more comforting this time around, and Dream’s hands start to ease up on the steering wheel, not realizing how tight his grasp was beforehand. A few times he had almost forgotten to turn or he let up on the gas a little too much, but luckily they had made it to Dream’s secret location safely. The ride was even further from Orlando, nearly an hour and thirty minutes away but Dream thought the extra thirty minute ride back was worth it. Stepping out of the car, George was a little surprised that Dream had taken him here, though he hadn’t actually stepped foot inside this location just yet. George thought that of all places, he least expected a library to be a getaway place for Dream to go to. The library had a slight breeze that filtered the air and the subtle smell of dust. It wasn’t typically large, but it wasn’t small either, thousands of books still lining the shelves and quaint tables for people to sit at. Even some computers towards the back that were currently available for use since not a single person was seen on one. The only noises audible were the subtle droning of the computers and the heat system that would turn on and off every ten minutes or so. Dream realized it was likely a bad idea to bring George here, considering it meant their whispers had to be tantalizingly low, but it was one of his favorite places so why not share it with someone that might also like it too? 

It seemed as though the man at the front desk knew who Dream was, George noted to himself, since he gave him a smile and nodded his head, to which Dream did the same back. At a table towards the back, behind some book shelves, they both sat down, and George gave Dream a confused look. Dream put a finger up to his own mouth, leaned over to his left and grabbed a book. 

“Why not just whisper to me?” George tries to say quietly. 

Dream suppresses a laugh. George wasn’t very good at whispering. 

“Want to play a game?” Dream quietly asks. 

George nods his head. 

“I’ll explain the rules. You grab a book from one of the shelves, and you have to point to different words to try to make a sentence. You can use the words on the cover and on the back, but you have to point to the word, you can’t make the word yourself by pointing to different letters okay?” Dream explains in the lowest voice possible. 

“Can I just use a sentence already in the book?” George asks. 

“Yes, but it has to make sense in the conversation. And you can use as many books as you want, even at the same time” Dream says. 

George shrugs his shoulders, grabbing a book and opens it up. He puts to a word that simply says,  _ okay _ . Dream smiles, happy to know that George wanted to go along with his childish game. They flip through pages of books, trying to find words to recreate sentences, and every so often they’ll point to a word until they actually finish saying what they need to say. The page flips, which were rather loud considering how quiet the library was, was met with giggles and elbow shoves, most coming from George trying to mess Dream up. Dream finally finishes another sentence, pointing to the last word, which makes,  _ So you don’t think this is stupid? _ George flips through pages for a second, and points to one word,  _ Nope.  _ Then puts a finger up to signal he’s not done.  _ It’s different. I like it _ , George responds. George puts a finger up again, still signaling he’s not finished.  _ How did you come up with this,  _ George finishes the sentence after what felt like forever. Dream shrugs.  _ I don’t know. Just came up with it now _ , he admits to him. George covers his mouth to stop laughter from coming out.  _ You are a dork _ , George says back. This goes on for another couple of minutes, until George accidentally speaks out loud. 

_ You have nice eyes _ , Dream says. 

George laughs, “I’d say you do too, but I’m colorblind.” 

Dream tries his hardest to suppress his laughter, but accidentally lets it out, the sound of his laugh filling the library, earning both of them some looks from the few people that were reading or working. George laughs along with him, trying to silence himself in the process since the desk clerk was now also giving them stares. Dream knew it was probably wrong to laugh at something like that, but the break in silence being from a statement like that was a really amusing shock to Dream. 

“It wasn’t  _ that _ funny,” George says, trying his best to maintain a whisper. 

“You just-,” Dream cuts himself off and wheezes, “You literally just broke the silence by saying, ‘well, I’m colorblind.’” 

“Because I can’t tell if your eyes are green or yellow,” George says, calming down before Dream. 

“Who has yellow eyes?” Dream wheezes again, eyes squinting and holding his mouth. 

“I don’t know! I just thought maybe you’re like different or something,” George states, his voice turning into an actual whisper now. 

Dream finally calms down from his laughter, the desk clerk looking over clearly confused but choosing to ignore the antics caused by the two. 

“Have you never seen someone with green eyes before?” Dream’s voice dies down into a whisper. 

“I don’t know, I don’t pay attention to that sort of thing unless I have to.” 

“Are you paying attention now then?” Dream asks him quietly.

Suddenly, Dream is aware of how loud the computers are and how warm the library is, as George falls silent. His face slowly flushes with a light shade of pink across his cheeks, his eyes wandering and trying to look anywhere but at Dream’s face. George fiddles with his hands, trying to think of something to say. 

“Well, yeah, I would um, say so,” George admits rather quietly. 

“So then, can you tell my eyes are green?” Dream says softly. 

George is quiet, his eyes finding their way to look into Dream’s. George squints a little, trying to make out the color. 

“Come closer to me,” George asks, putting a hand on Dream’s shoulder. 

Dream moves a little closer to George, holding his breath as George’s face gets just slightly closer to his. 

“It’s so hard to tell, the lighting in here makes it even worse,” George says, his words almost inaudible with how softly he spoke them. 

Dream laughs awkwardly, causing his shoulders to shake a little. 

After a moment of silence, George says, “Yeah, but they can’t just be green. There’s like a weird mesh of colors that’s throwing off my eyes, so it’s hard to tell.” 

Dream shrugs his shoulders, “Guess you’ll never know.” 

George furrows his eyebrows at Dream in a way that insinuates his playful annoyance, then leans back into his chair. Dream finally and subtly lets go of the breath he was holding in the moment that George backs away. The table in front of them was filled with books, some open, some closed and a couple stacked up to five high.The rushing to get words and sentences in caused them to make a mess without really realizing. Dream wondered how they looked to the people around them, with absolute chaos of pages spread out in front of them. Dream taps George on his shoulder, suggesting that they clean up the books since he didn’t want to give the librarian at the counter more work than needed. As they cleaned up and put the books away, the library slowly filtered out all the people inside. Once again, it was already getting late into the evening, and after they finished cleaning up all the books, they ended up sitting side by side whispering to one another. Dream wouldn’t stop rambling on about one of his favorite books and continued to go in prolonged detail about it, stopping every now and again because he’d accidentally get off topic. One conversation led to another and somehow he was talking about an obscure experience that had nothing to do with the book he was originally talking about. It didn’t matter all that much, since George sat there listening with interest and chiming in whenever Dream looked for feedback or a reaction. 

Being the time was only nine in the evening, the library was still open, and in walked a familiar face. The barista from earlier, with his apron draped off his arm and looking exhausted, started talking to the librarian at the counter. 

“So, how long has Dream been talking to him?” the librarian asks.

“I’m guessing about a week, but from the eavesdropping I’ve done this is only the second time they’ve talked,” the barista replies. 

“Wait, so you mean to tell me they didn’t talk for a week straight and are now talking like it’s nothing?” 

The barista nods his head, pushing his hair out of his face. 

“And you think that he…,” the librarian cuts himself off. 

“Oh please, Dream is so easy to read when it comes to stuff like this. It’s obvious, isn’t it?” the barista explains, then gestures to the two of them. 

Dream is explaining something with wild hand gestures and George is laughing at whatever Dream is saying. There’s a permanent smile stuck on both of their faces, unaware of how gradually they’ve become louder. Luckily, the library was nearly vacant, so the librarian let it slide. Dream stops talking for a moment, watching as George’s mouth moves to talk, then his eyes suddenly go to look back at his eyes. Dream’s unaware of it, but the barista and the librarian notice every second of their interaction together. 

“They made a huge mess earlier, I thought I would have to yell at them,” the librarian says. 

“You? Yell? That’s a funny joke, Bad,” the barista laughs. 

“Oh be quiet!” the librarian, who goes by Bad, retorts. 

The two in front of them, nearly hidden by the bookshelf, continue to talk and ramble on. Bad and the barista watch them, their conversation never faltering. 

“Are you gonna kick them out? It’s almost 9:30,” the barista questions. 

“I’ll give them another hour.” 

Silence. The two continue to ramble. 

“You’re okay with this, Sapnap?” 

“I had to move on eventually, didn’t I?” 

Sapnap shrugs his shoulders, watching as George puts a hand on Dream’s arm as they laugh together. Bad looks at Sapnap with worrisome eyes, and Sapnap turns to him. 

“It’s fine, Bad. I’ll find someone else eventually. Besides, he’s happy.” 

He turns to face the door, and pushes on it. 

“Sapnap,” Bad says quietly. 

“Yeah?” 

“You’ll find someone. I know you will,” Bad says with a large smile on his face. 

Sapnap offers a half smile, nods, then walks out the door, the library filling with cold air for a moment. After about an hour, Dream and George decide to leave, Dream giving Bad a nod of approval and heading out to the dark, cool air outside.They said their goodbyes, with Dream acutely aware of how long the trek back home would be. And once he made it home, he flopped onto his bed, sleep threatening to take over him.  _ Ding! _

**Georgenotfound**

_ sleep well! :] _

He smiled, and before he got to respond, he fell asleep, phone slowly darkening in his hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> small update, i'm shooting to make this 16 chapters, it might be less depending on what happens. hope you enjoyed some dream and sapnap angst, and some dnf wholesomeness :] and i'll update again in a week! thank you for reading!


	3. Something About A Swingset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream reminisces about a past memory involving Sapnap, and finds out that Sapnap and George have already met. George and Dream also go to a park in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know the deal. this wasn't supposed to come out this early but I got ~eager~. This one's a little longer than last time, whoops. In any case, enjoy!

In simplest terms, the only difference between being aware of your feelings and accidentally becoming too invested into a person without realization, was naivety. Dream, on the other hand, chose ignorance over the two. Because the simplest solution to it all was unrefined and blatant ignorance. Continuing on the trek of ignorance, however, meant dealing with more spontaneous ideas and uninterrupted reckless actions. Or as Dream himself would put it, he was just being curious and was deeply interested. At least, that’s how he explained it to Sapnap the previous night. Sapnap wouldn’t push on any topics specifically, asking indirect questions to get some form of answer from Dream. But each time Dream sent a message back, he backed it up by saying he was simply interested in George. Despite how hard Sapnap tried to push without being obvious about it, it seemed fairly clear that Dream was unapologetically oblivious to himself. Even when explaining first impressions, after Dream described George to Sapnap by saying his first thought was that he was just a “pretty stranger”, Sapnap couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Sapnap wasn’t jealous, he just knew that if bliss meant ignorance, then Dream surely was a dumbass. He could deal with a former crush falling for someone that was relentlessly attractive, but he couldn’t deal with how blind his best friend was. 

So when Dream fell into the same mistake of taking yet another hour drive to Tampa Bay, all rational left his mind once again in that moment. This time around, it was a bit different. Instead of leaving midday to get to get to the same café that he had met the one who piqued his interest, he left more towards the evening. The time was already nearing 7:30ish in the evening, and he was just barely halfway there. A vibrating sensation shot it’s way up Dream’s leg, followed by a loud sound. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, the case becoming slippery in his grasp, and nearly dropping it. Sapnap was calling him from discord. Fumbling with the phone, Dream manages to answer the call. 

“Hello?” Dream says softly. 

“Hey, what a miracle you’re not here today,” Sapnap pokes fun at him. 

Dream holds back a grin, subtly biting at his bottom lip to keep from laughing. 

“Oh my god, don’t tell me you’re-”

“Yeah, I am,” Dream cuts him off, looking down momentarily, then refocusing on the road. 

“You’re so lucky he’s still here. He seems pretty focused on whatever he’s doing,” Sapnap notes, leaning on his elbow against the counter. 

“You’re not supposed to be on your phone right now, so why’d you really call?” Dream shifts the conversation. 

A subtle staticy sound is heard on the other end, like the microphone was brushing against fabric. The faint sound of cheesy but low music is heard coming from Sapnap’s end of the call, along with a conversation. Dream realized that he forgot to mute his mic while talking to someone he presumed was a customer. The short conversation from Sapnap’s end was boring, so Dream made no note of it, until Sapnap returned. 

“Sorry, someone was asking a question,” Sapnap said, the muffled voice gone. 

“It’s fine. Listen, I should be there in a bit, I’ll just talk to you when I get there,” Dream says, shuffling with the phone. 

Sapnap mumbled something but Dream couldn’t hear it. 

“Yeah alright. Don’t know if he’ll still be here by the time you get here, but I’ll stall if needed,” Sapnap adds on. 

“Thanks. Talk to you in a bit,” Dream says, sliding his thumb to end the call. 

Sapnap mumbled a “yeah” in response just before the call died. 

Dream tossed his phone into the center console of the car, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and the other draped on his leg. This time, the ride felt as though it was taking forever, as if he couldn’t get there fast enough. The car sounds were being drowned out by Dream’s thoughts and how agonizingly slow the car ride felt. Sapnap didn’t sound very happy or thrilled after Dream had mentioned going to the café today, though, he could rationalize why in his head. An unspoken, subtle rift between the two of them had formed the day Sapnap accidentally confessed to him on a discord call. Neither of them had addressed the situation since, hoping it would slowly pass over, but it still lingered between the two of them. Sapnap had left his mic unmuted, and it sounded like he was talking to someone, Dream has presumed it was a roommate of his. The burst of Sapnap’s voice with anger had interrupted the person he was talking with, Dream opting to stay quiet in the call to avoid awkwardness. 

_ “What he doesn’t know, won’t kill him! I’m not telling him anytime soon, it’s probably just me being stupid anyways! Dream doesn’t  _ need _ to know how I feel about him!”  _

After hearing Sapnap’s anger ridden voice flood through the call, Dream’s eyes widened, accidentally shoving a closed bottle of water over on his desk with a large thud sound audible on both ends. Silence fell in the call, Sapnap staring at the computer with horror and Dream contemplating on ending the call or not. A muffled voice from the other end, and the sound of a door closing. The call time continued to tick on, the green ring around their profile pictures not showing up, both microphones unmuted. Dream was unsure of what to say or do now, as he didn’t want to make Sapnap uncomfortable or overstep any boundaries he had accidentally already crossed. 

_ “Nick, I didn’t-” _

_ “It’s fine. It was my fault, I forgot to mute. Don’t...don’t worry about it.”  _

Silence. 

_ “Do you wanna ta-” _

_ “No, Clay. Let’s just forget this happened. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”  _

_ “Okay, goodnight.”  _

Dream remembers the sound of the discord call ending, the way he stared at the screen and continued to contemplate what had just happened. Sapnap never brought it up again, and every time Dream tried to, he would ignore it or change the subject. Eventually, Dream stopped trying, and threw away the possibility of trying to give him some form of closure since clearly, Sapnap didn’t want it. He still seemed pretty positive for Dream though, considering how close Dream was getting to George. He’d expected more distance between the two of them, possibly some jealousy. But having George around and talking about him, oddly had the opposite effect. He wasn’t sure if Sapnap and George had actually had a proper conversation, but he assumed they’d had to have talked at least once, considering George is at the café often. Still, Dream was unaware if George knew that he knew Sapnap too. Dream shook his head from the millions of thoughts that flooded in, and finally, he arrived at the café once more. 

Dream wasn’t particularly shocked at what he was seeing, more so, pleasingly contented. Sapnap was sat across from George, talking to him about something that seemed fairly interesting. Though Sapnap was technically still working a shift, the place was vacant, with George’s laptop half opened in front of him and Sapnap's head placed in his left hand. Dream didn’t know whether to walk up to the both and greet them, or just sit quietly in his usual corner. However, he didn’t have much of a choice, as someone had already chosen for him. 

“Oh hey, Dream,” Sapnap said, tilting his head a little and smiling. 

Sapnap narrowed his eyes for a moment, his facial expression reading ‘ _ you’re welcome and you owe me one _ ’ at the same time. 

“Hey Sapnap,” Dream started, then looked over at George, “and hi, George.” 

“Wait, so you and him really are friends then?” George questions, eyes darting back and forth between the two. 

“Surprisingly, the 6’3 idiot is actually my best friend,” Sapnap chimes in, his usual sarcastic demeanor threading through his words. 

Dream laughs awkwardly, with a small “yeah.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner, he’s actually kind of fun to talk to,” George says to Dream, locking eyes with him. 

“Kind of fun? I’m a lot of fun, actually,” Sapnap says, before Dream can respond. 

Dream looks away for a moment, making eye contact with Sapnap who just shrugs his shoulders in response. If Dream could roll his eyes right now in annoyance, he certainly would. 

“I don’t know, he can be a pain in my ass sometimes. Wasn’t sure if it was worth introducing you two,” Dream mocks, which earns him a swat from Sapnap on the leg. 

George laughs, “I’m guessing Sapnap is also a nickname then?” 

They both nod in unison, Dream looking down at Sapnap’s nametag. He rarely addressed Sapnap by his actual name since out of habit he got used to calling him a screen name instead. But when things called for serious moments, or he simply just didn’t feel bothered to call him by his gamertag, his actual name would slip from his mouth from time to time. Dream hadn’t realized that George only knew him by his actual name, which felt slightly odd to him in a way. Despite this, they all ended up talking for quite a long time, topics ranging from how they got their gamertags to how Sapnap and Dream actually met. It was obvious how both of them met George, so it seemed redundant to ask. Dream usually came to the café earlier to avoid leaving late, but this time around, Dream actually had a place in mind for him and George to go to. He hadn’t realized that Sapnap would possibly be tagging along, but he didn’t mind the extra person being there. Much to Dream’s surprise, Sapnap actually decided to close the café a little earlier than usual, 11:30pm to be exact. 

Dream questioned him privately on why he decided to close earlier, following him to the counter and Sapnap told him something simply. 

“I’m tired, and you seem antsy. Like you want to go somewhere. So go with him, I’m sure you’ll both enjoy it.” 

There were no undertones of sarcasm or sadness, and Sapnap actually looked like he had worked a long shift today. Taking off his apron and putting a hand on Dream’s shoulder, he looked into his eyes. 

“He seems like a good friend. Don’t mess this up.” 

Sapnap’s eyes gleamed with something that Dream couldn’t comprehend. It was as if Sapnap had given up on something, but with contentful respect. There was a genuine smile on his lips, as his hand slipped off his shoulder. George was busy putting his things away, not really paying attention to the conversation between the other two. Once they had finished up, Sapnap wiped down the counters and put a couple things away, he locked the door behind them, and separated from Dream and George. They said their goodbyes to Sapnap, the night air enveloping him as he disappeared. George turned to Dream abruptly, unsure if he should say his goodbyes. 

“I know it’s already pretty late but…” 

The question hung in the air for a moment. 

“But…?” George finished for him. 

“Do you want to go to a park with me?” Dream continued. 

George stood unwavering, contemplating on if he should risk staying out longer, or just go home. Dream waited for a moment for his answer, in which George eventually nodded his head. George would deal with the consequences of being out so late at a different time. Dream thought the best and likely safest solution to get to a nearby park was to take his car, especially since the streetlights weren’t very well suited to lighting up the sidewalk. The car held the coldness from outside still, since the temperature from earlier dropped, mimicking winter-like conditions. The heat turned on in the car, and Dream started it up, waiting a few seconds before pulling out of the parking lot. George looked down at his lap, unsure of what to say or do at the moment. He rested his hand on the center console, the sound of music settling in the air. Dream being used to driving with one hand on straight roads, went to rest his hand on the center console as well, but felt skin brush against his palm, retracting his hand immediately. He looked down quickly, then back at the road, and George did the same thing, his hand tensing from the contact. Dream awkwardly apologized, explaining how it was a force of habit and George quickly understood, trying to ignore the tingling feeling left on top of his hand. His face burned and buzzed with the color pink, as he took his hand and lightly rubbed at his face to make the feeling disappear. Dream on the other hand, was trying his best to focus on where he was going, albeit turning difficult when he couldn’t get the awkward situation out of his mind. 

The park eventually showed up in sight, not too long after, just two simple street lamps lighting up the tiny area. Dream parked the car, and they both made their way over to the little park. Dream didn’t exactly know why he wanted to take George here. There wasn’t too much significance to it besides him coming here on days where he needed to clear his head from the stress of college. Maybe that’s why he was here. The cafe, although it was fairly tranquil, reminded him of schoolwork, and tireless nights of doing assignments. Whereas this little park, clearly meant for kids that were younger than the age of twelve, provided a different form of calm. Dream wouldn’t describe what he was feeling right now as flustered. Maybe excited or just energetic but he usually only came here when he was stressed. So why was he here now, if he wasn’t stressed? George didn’t stress him out in the slightest. It was almost exactly the opposite. He’d have his moments of embarrassment or feeling unusually conflicted on what to do next, but he wouldn’t call any of that stress. What could it possibly be then? And if it was stress, why bring George with him? 

The dim lights from the lampposts casted on George’s face, leaving a shadow just behind him where he stood. Dream had only known him for about three weeks, only had three long conversations with him, since he couldn’t work up the courage to simply send him a text on discord, but for an unknown reason, his heart started to quicken it’s pace the longer they walked around the small playground. His hands became an uncomfortable mix of warm and cold, perspiring slightly without realization. George looked around at each thing, climbing on top of one of the playground sets, clearly being too tall for it. He laughed, assuming he looked ridiculous climbing a children’s playset, and Dream laughed too, but it wasn’t the same laugh that he had given at the library. It was soft, and if the night hadn’t been quiet, George would’ve missed it. There was a small swing set, capable of holding two fully grown adults on it at best, despite there being four swings. And without saying anything, as if George had read his mind, he made his way over to one of the swings. George took his seat on one of the swings and gestured at Dream to come over as well. Dream took a seat, leaving a swing seat between the two of them. 

“So why here?” George questions, trying to create movement by pushing his legs forwards and then backwards. 

Dream stays quiet. He didn’t know how to respond to something that even he didn’t know the answer to. 

“Honestly, I just thought it would be nice to go someplace calm,” Dream responds. 

He knew the answer was, as he would put it, “half-assed”, but he couldn’t come up with a better explanation at the moment. His head continued to run wild with thoughts and explanations he couldn’t understand. He was still sitting there, not moving to swing, just looking at George. 

“I’m guessing you’ve been here before then?” George says, still swinging. 

“Yeah, I come here when…” he cuts himself off for a moment, “like, when I’m stressed you know?” 

“Are you stressed right now?” George asks, slowing down, dragging his feet softly against the ground to gradually stop. 

He looks away from him, turning his attention to the chain holding the swing. No, he wasn’t stressed. Right? 

“No, not that I know of. It’s just calming here, I guess,” Dream tries to explain.

“Oh, I get it,” George says, “so, you just wanted to talk here then?” 

“Yeah. Even though I probably could’ve like, called you later or something,” Dream blurts out. 

He remembered he hadn’t made use of having George’s discord, and immediately felt stupid to suggest something like that. George smiles at Dream having remembered that they had exchanged that information. 

“It’s fine. I don’t have any classes tomorrow anyway,” George says, getting off the swing and standing on the seat instead, holding on to the chains on either side of him. 

“I don’t think anyone does,” Dream says, breathily laughing, coming across as more of an exhale. 

Dream watches as George holds on to the chains, trying to balance himself while swinging very slightly whilst standing up. The chains rustle and George is wobbling to keep balance. 

“You’re gonna fall,” Dream says, a smile starting to form on his face. 

“Not if I’m very careful,” George says, his hands gripping the chains tightly. 

“The seat is slippery. I’m telling you, you’re gonna fall,” Dream says, standing up from the swing seat. 

“I just have to be careful, Dr-” he starts, his foot slipping momentarily, then regaining his composure, “-eam.” 

“You’re like a little kid. You’re so stubborn,” Dream says, starting to laugh, offering a hand to help him down. 

George keeps his grip on the chains, looking down at Dream who was silently waiting for him to come down. George shakes his head. 

“It’s fine. Besides if I fall, it’s not too far of a way down,” he explains. 

Dream smirks, grabbing one one the chains and very lightly shaking the swing. Just enough to throw him off balance and scare him a little. George protests, accidentally yelling a little too loud for almost one in the morning. 

“Dream, stop!” George shouts. 

Dream obliges but the moment he does, George’s foot slips for real this time. He shouts loudly, trying to grab for the chains, though the chains weren’t very good support in the first place. Dream manages to catch him before he hits the dirt floor, but just barely. His knee hit the ground abruptly in an attempt to catch George, and George had his eyes closed shut rather tightly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the dirty-blonde staring directly into his face with a worried expression. Eyebrows furrowed and eyes widened, he had his arms wrapped around George. The light from the dimly-lit street light illuminated Dream’s face, and George didn’t say a word. 

“I told you you were gonna fall,” Dream says softly. 

George’s throat suddenly runs dry as he tries to speak. He couldn’t form words for some reason.  _ It was possibly just the shock from falling,  _ George reminded himself. 

“I-, you-, you literally started shaking it,” George says, trying to raise his voice, but it comes out softer than expected. 

Dream shakes his head, and helps him stand up. A pain spread through Dream’s left leg, realizing he landed a lot harder on his knee than intended. He looked down, and noticed a very small hole in his jeans, with some dark liquid peeking through. He had scraped himself trying to keep George from getting a concussion. He looked away from it, and played it off as if it was nothing. 

“Maybe I should get you home,” Dream says, laughing a little to lighten the mood, since suddenly everything seemed very tense. 

George nodded his head, and they went back to the car. The drive back was unusually quiet and heavy, not like before. The quietness had a tension laced through it that caused the both of them to feel uneasy. When Dream arrived at George’s house, a small lamp post lit up the street, just where he had stopped the car. 

“I would invite you in but I live with my parents,” George explains. 

“Yeah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Dream says, waving a hand. 

The unclicking of the seatbelt is heard, it zipping backwards into its place. George gets out of the car and just before closing it, he says something softly. 

“Thank you. And thank you for tonight, Clay.” 

Dream’s heart starts up rapidly, his mind fogging for a moment and his eyes softening. 

“Oh c’mon, you don’t need to thank me. Thanks for having some fun with me,” Dream responds. 

George nods his head and smiles, shutting the car door and turning to walk inside his house. The drive back to Orlando, felt excruciating, but Dream couldn’t be bothered to think about anything else other than the way George said his name. Those words rang in his ears, up until he fell asleep. 

_ “And thank you for tonight, Clay.”  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dude i was supposed to be studying for a stats test but i was too eager to finish writing this, SO HERE I AM. I hope you enjoyed :] another update coming next week


	4. Insomniacs Are Interesting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George can't sleep and has always had trouble sleeping. Dream however, decides to drive an hour to try and help him fall asleep, while thinking to himself about a couple things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im starting this on a snow day LETS GOOOOO. I was gonna make this a snow chapter but then remembered its fall in the story so, rip. Anyways, enjoy this :]

There was one thing Dream made sure not to do, and that was mention that he had accidentally hit his knee too hard on the ground when he was trying to prevent George from getting hurt. However, that didn’t last very long anyway, considering that this was the first time Dream had gotten the courage and the time to text him on discord. Without realization, he had let it slip that his knee was in pain and when he tried to play it off as if he’d hit the corner of his desk, instead of sending Sapnap the message that he hurt himself trying to catch George, he sent it to George. Which earned Dream a series of messages saying that he “shouldn’t have shaken the swing in the first place” and “why didn’t you tell me?”, most of which Dream just laughed at. He didn’t understand why George was so concerned anyways, his knee would be fine in a few days anyway. So when George insisted that he video called him in discord, his chest tightened and his face started to gradually get warmer despite how his bedroom was fairly cold. He tried to insist he was fine, but for some reason, George wouldn’t stop pushing. With a large sigh exiting his mouth, Dream fixed his hair by running his hand through a couple of times and clicked the call button. It rang once. Then twice. Halfway a third time. He picked up. 

“Before you speak, let me just say, I’m actually fine. It has an annoying, throbbing pain but I haven’t done much today anyways, so I’m fine,” Dream starts, fixing his hair again while looking into the camera. 

“Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you just didn’t shake the swing,” George presses, rolling his eyes. 

“You probably would’ve fell anyways, seeing as you were  _ standing _ on a swing,” Dream says, emphasizing the word ‘standing.’ 

George shakes his head and looks closely at the camera, as if he’s observing something intently. Awkwardly, Dream looks around his bedroom, a little confused on why he was intensely staring. 

“You must be on your PC. The camera quality is nice,” George notes. 

Dream puts a hand to the back of his neck and averts his eyes from the facecam at the top of the monitor. 

“Yeah, I am. Wifi decided to be nice to me today,” Dream explains. 

George nods his head. Dream watches as George shifts in his desk chair, bringing his knees to his chest and trying to balance himself in the center of the camera. The sweater he’s wearing goes just past his hands which are resting on his knees, and he looks as if he hadn’t slept all night. Dream was unsure if he should just bite his tongue, or bring it up, but in light of changing subjects, he chose the first option. 

“You look really tired. Did you sleep last night?” Dream asks, shifting in his chair to rest his head on his hand. 

George smiles with guilt, shaking his head a little. 

“I was up doing homework. I didn’t want to do it today, so I just stayed up yesterday doing it all,” George admits truthfully, his eyes not meeting the screen in front of him. 

“Why don’t you just sleep now? It’s not too early to go to bed,” Dream explains. 

“Truthfully, I’m kind of an insomniac.” 

“So you have trouble sleeping?”

“Constantly. The last time I slept well was when I had someone next to me,” George continues.

Dream thinks to himself for a moment. Did that mean he had someone still? Or maybe he was trying to suggest something? Dream almost shook his head to break away from the thoughts but refrained so he wouldn’t look suspicious. It shouldn’t matter to Dream anyway. He was just a good friend of his. He’d argue they were becoming almost as close as him and Sapnap. Regardless, he shouldn’t care if George had someone. It was none of his business anyways. Still, Dream couldn’t help but be a bit curious as to what his words meant. 

“You only sleep well when there’s someone there with you?” Dream asks, despite the tension he can feel squeezing his throat. 

“Sort of. Just talking to someone helps me fall asleep usually. But I rarely have people come over,” George states, focusing his attention back on the screen rather than his knees. 

“Why’s that?”

“Strict parents. Hard to keep people in my room when I have to shove them out at like 9 in the morning. I’m lucky my bedroom door at least has a lock,” George laughs at the end part. 

A reckless idea clicks in Dream’s head. He wanted to offer the idea to him, but thought it to be weird to offer something like that so soon. Dream only meant it to be a friendly gesture, something to just help him sleep. He pushed the idea to the back of his mind for a second to ask more questions. 

“When’s the last time you slept well then?” 

George rubbed the back of his neck and started to think for a moment. His eyes wandered past the webcam and he looked deep in thought. He brushed his hair out of his face, then looked at the camera. 

“Like probably a year ago. I just take sleeping supplements to get rest now, though I wake up feeling worse, honestly,” he admits, playing the situation off as if it was normal. 

Any other person probably couldn’t tell he was ever tired, since his face alone was attractive enough to distract from the dark circles under his eyes. It made sense why he was always at the café at later times though, and never had a set time on leaving. Whereas Dream would usually leave early because of the drive back. Except lately, that drive seemed like nothing to Dream now. Dream contemplated a few things in his mind for a moment as he continued to carry a conversation with George. It was slowly devolving into night, and Dream contemplated this stupid decision he had running through his mind. Dream didn’t like to sleep much anyway, since he preferred grinding on school or playing something on minecraft instead. He was hoping George couldn’t sense his uneasiness, as he tapped the desk and bounced his leg, contemplating what to do. He didn’t have school tomorrow, one night without sleep didn’t mean anything. Dream glanced at the time on his monitor. It was nine at night. He looked back at George who was still talking about coding something, and waited for him to finish. 

“George, are you tired?” Dream asks. 

George scoffs and then laughs. 

“I’m always tired, Dream.” 

Dream bites his lip before letting the words leave his mouth. 

“Then, I’m coming over.” 

George’s eyes widened, staring at the screen in shock. 

“But you can’t, my par-”

“You have a window for a reason,” Dream cuts him off, “Not to mention a lock on your door, too.” 

A faint smile finds its way to George’s lips, as he bits the inside of his cheek to keep from letting it show. Luckily, Dream didn’t catch it. 

“It’s late though. You have to drive an hour to get here,” George continues. 

“I don’t have any obligations tomorrow. It’s fine. Now send me your address,” Dream says, his voice sounding confident. 

Though despite the confidence in his voice, he had no idea why he was doing this. There was no exact reasoning or anything. He could just leave him be. Let him figure out a way to fall asleep that actually made him get a good rest. He knew he shouldn’t care, but the moment that message showed up in discord of his address, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He looked back at the brunette in front of him, who wore a soft smile on his face. 

“See you in an hour.”

“You sure as hell will,” Dream said, ending the call instantly. 

He got up from his desk chair, grabbed a phone charger and his keys, then made a break for his car. It was already dark out, the night air settling with the cold that felt like winter again. He opened the door to the passenger side and got in, turning the car on and waited for it to heat up, then pulled out of his driveway. Luckily, Dream already lived alone, so waking up anyone in the house wasn’t a concern to him. Well, maybe waking up his cat was a concern, but luckily Patches never minded the noise. The heat in the car fogged some of the windows for a bit, and Dream drove on a clear road to George’s house. The night was quiet and peaceful, it had a different atmosphere compared to his drives during the day. The drives during the day could sometimes be relaxing or noiseless, but this was different. There weren’t many cars on the road, and even with the few, it felt like Dream was actually alone on the road. He didn’t have to worry about deadlines or rushing to get somewhere. He just had to worry about the road ahead of him, and seeing George. 

A wave of nervousness washed over him for a moment at the thought of George. Maybe he would think it's weird that he was going out of his way to try and help him sleep. Or the fact that he was willing to drive an hour almost every Saturday to see, despite the fact that today was actually Sunday now. Two days in a row he had gone to see him. He had driven a total of three and a half hours, back and forth within the two days just to see him. On the more rational side, however, he did see Sapnap on one of those days, so it couldn’t have been just for him. It couldn’t have been just for George. Dream laughed to himself, shaking his head and scoffing. He realized just how ridiculous this situation was. How he had just thrust himself into something without knowing what the consequences of all this could be. He could get caught in his room. He could accidentally fall while trying to climb the window. He could get the wrong address. And if George’s parents caught him with Dream, would they think…

_ No, they wouldn’t _ , Dream thought to himself. His face felt warm, and an overwhelming sensation was caught in his chest for a moment. He knew no one was around, but the thought of it made him glance to the side involuntarily with a sheepish expression. He looked down at the center console, where his hand was resting. He briefly thought about when he accidentally placed his hand on top of George’s, how pink spread across the bridge of his nose and cheeks as Dream apologized. In the moment, Dream made no note of it, since he realized that George was probably just embarrassed from the unfortunate interaction. But the more he thought about it, the more he focused on George’s face and his expressions. How he briefly rubbed his face with his hand in an attempt to make the blush go away, and the way the autumn sun met his eyes. Dream shook his head again and passed his hand over his face. He shouldn’t be thinking like this. Not right now. 

He focused his attention back on the road, his phone buzzing in the center console. He looks over to see a message pop up. 

_ Sapnap: are you able to get on mc? I need help with something on the server _

Dream stared at the message on the screen. How was he supposed to explain that he wasn’t even home? That he was literally one his way to someone that he just recently met’s house? He stared down at the steering wheel for a moment, contemplating what excuse he could come up with. It was only about ten minutes until it was ten at night, it wouldn't be so odd for him to leave his house at this time for something quickly right? Letting up on the gas a bit, he quickly tapped out a message to Sapnap. He hoped that would suffice as a viable excuse for now, and hopefully Sapnap wouldn’t question any further. 

_ Dream: left my house to pick something up at my mom’s _

_ Dream: idk if i can get on later _

He waited for the ding to resound in the rather too quiet car now, glancing at his phone every now and again. Another message came through and all Sapnap responded with was “ _ k _ .” Dream’s heart dropped, the sudden realization that Sapnap probably knew he wasn’t actually headed to his mother’s house. He didn’t want Sapnap to think he was avoiding him, and he noted in the back of his mind to make it up to him tomorrow. Disregarding Sapnap was the last thing Dream wanted to do to him, especially since Dream did make a new friend. But Sapnap was painfully aware of how Dream was when meeting new people. He’d talk their ear off and dedicate a lot of time to them. The problem was, when this happened to Sapnap when he first met Dream, he didn’t know he was like that. He didn’t know his personality was just naturally flirtatious. So when it came time for Sapnap to realize how he actually felt about Dream, not only was it too late, but he also knew that Dream did  _ not _ feel the same way. Dream hadn’t noticed at first, but he started to get a subtle inclination that Sapnap wanted to be more than friends. Despite that, Dream had ignored it, and once his suspicions became real, he hadn’t any idea how to react. Though, it didn’t matter much now anyway, since it was clear to Sapnap where his feelings lie. It hurt Sapnap a little, but it had been a while now, so getting the message that Dream was “going to his mom’s house”, seemed like a lame excuse for going out at ten o’clock at night. And Dream knew Sapnap wouldn’t buy it. 

Despite the subtle guilt that Dream felt for ditching his long-term best friend to help a different friend simply _sleep_ , he wasn’t about to turn around after nearly an hour of driving just to play minecraft until three in the morning. And Dream reasoned he could play minecraft until three in the morning any other day, especially with Sapnap, so he shouldn’t focus too heavily on feeling bad for sort of ditching him. Though they never had plans in the first place. Dream was getting closer to George’s house, looking out for the house number carefully within the darkness. When he did find the house number, he settled on parking a little less than a block away, so he wasn’t somehow caught by George’s parents. Dream felt a little ridiculous, doing what he was about to do. It was as if he was a teenager sneaking into his significant others house because they had some sort of forbidden love. He laughed to himself quietly as he sent a text to George. The car had gone silent after he turned it off, just the sound of crickets humming and the cold settling in the car once again. George explained that his window was the second one to the right and that he should call him when he was at the window. Dream obliged, and got out of his car, making his way to George’s window. Luckily, his room was at the bottom floor, so he wouldn’t need to do any unnecessary climbing. He started to call George who answered immediately, and a curtain shot open quickly. Dream was met with a brightly smiling face and muffled laughter filling his ears. George opened his window.   
“You’re ridiculous,” he says, half laughing. 

“Oh c’mon, I’m not that ridiculous,” Dream counters, rolling his eyes.   
“Just come in already, it’s cold out there,” George says, stepping aside to let Dream in. 

Dream fits himself through the window, stumbling a little as he makes his way inside George’s room, then shuts the window behind him, along with the curtains. He turns to George who is sitting on his bed, watching Dream struggle and laughing softly so he doesn’t alert his parents. Dream was suddenly aware that he was actually at his friend’s house, at ten o’clock at night, just to provide company for him to sleep. Ridiculous truly was an understatement. 

“Nice room,” Dream says, sitting down next to George on the bed.   
“Thanks, I guess,” George says, looking around the room. 

“You guess?” Dream chuckles after he says this. 

“Yeah, I guess. It’s sort of a plain room,” George awkwardly states. 

Dream shrugs his shoulder indifferently. 

“What do you usually do to fall asleep?”

“Scroll through my phone or play video games, usually minecraft.”   
“Hey, I like minecraft too,” Dream adds, “But maybe we should try something else.” 

George raises his eyebrows in a suggestive way, and Dream feels the blush creep up his neck. 

“Oh please, not like that,” Dream reprimands him, waving his hand and George laughs. 

Dream tries again, hoping for George to not make another suggestive joke. 

“How about you lie in bed-”  
“I mean, I’m not that kind of guy, Dream,” he cuts him off. 

“George!” 

He bursts into laughter, failing at any attempt to suppress the loud noise, and Dream is shaking his head at the comment.   
“What is wrong with you?!” Dream accidentally shouts.   
George continues laughing, but puts a hand over Dream’s mouth to quiet him, realizing that his parents don’t know Dream is there. Dream shakes his hand off of his mouth, and glares down at him, his cheeks pink from laughing and clearly out of breath, as he clutches his stomach from the hilarity of Dream’s reactions.   
“Are you done now?” Dream asks, semi-seriously. 

“Yes, yes, I am,” he says, drawing in a breath after having a severe laughing fit. 

Dream exhales heavily. 

“Just lay down and I’ll sit in your desk chair and talk to you. Maybe that’ll help you fall asleep easier,” Dream suggests. 

George nods his head and climbs into his bed, the sheets being fumbled under his grasp as he tries to get comfortable. He lays his head on the pillow and stares up at the ceiling for a moment. Dream grabs the desk chair and brings it over to the side of the bed. 

“Should I like...turn off the lights?” Dream asks. 

“Sure, but it might take a bit for your eyes to adjust. My room is pretty dark at night,” George says. 

Dream walks to the light switch, and turns it off, the room filling with pitch-black. Dream puts his hands out in front of him to try and make his way back to the chair and accidentally trips over the chair, but manages to grab onto the arm rest so he doesn’t fall completely. George lets out a sound that sounds like air passing through his lips when he hears Dream trip. Though George can’t see it, Dream shoots him a dirty look. Dream sits down in the desk chair, and looks down at George, though he can’t actually see him, he just assumes he’s somewhere in front of him. 

“This feels kinda creepy,” Dream says, laughing breathily. 

“Then just sit at the edge of the bed, or you can sit like against the headboard if you want,” George says. 

“Wouldn’t that make you uncomfortable?”  
“If I’m offering, I’m not uncomfortable with it, Dream.” 

Dream pushes the chair back to the desk and sits at the edge of George’s bed, crisscrossing his legs and hoping he’s looking in George’s direction. Albeit it still felt a bit creepy, he thought sitting directly next to George while he fell asleep was borderline invading personal space. The small amount of light peeking through the window from the streetlights was just enough to make out the outline of George’s face, and slowly, Dream’s eyes started to adjust to the darkness in the room. Dream honestly didn’t even know the actual reason for why he was here, since George just could’ve figured it out himself and keep doing what he’s been doing. But, Dream didn’t want him to do that. Dream wanted to help him, for some unknown reason that he couldn’t even figure out for himself. He tried to chalk it up to just wanting to be a good friend, but he hadn’t even done this for Sapnap before. It couldn’t be that out of the ordinary though, and even if it was, Dream would figure out why eventually. 

“So...why’d you come here?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer in case anyone takes this story the wrong way, no, it is not based off of Dream's new song lol that's a really sensitive song to Dream and I would never write fanfiction based off it, I actually started writing this before I even knew it was gonna come out but in any case, stream Roadtrip by Dream ft. PmBata!! :] i seriously can't stop playing it lmao hope you enjoyed! i'll update in a week! also i stg, if Sapnap autocorrects to Subpoena one more time, I'm gonna riot.


	5. Well It's Three In The Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of dialogue in this one, my apologies. Dream and George have a late night conversation about a few different things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t have motivation to write but if I don’t write, I never will and I’ll give up on the idea and I am NOT doing that, cuz i do that with too many things, so hopefully chapter 5 isn’t bad. I'm so sorry this came out like 3 weeks later, I had work to do and also no motivation to write, but we're back :]

Dream thought it was obvious that he was there because he just wanted to help him out. But it was a little strange, he had to admit to himself. He wasn’t sure he’d go to these lengths to help any of his other friends for something so obscure. A more viable excuse would just be that he wasn’t tired, so helping a friend out wasn’t that big of a deal, but admittedly, Dream was kind of exhausted. George sits up in the bed a little so he can see Dream better, the dim lighting of both the moon and streetlights hitting his face softly. The silhouette of his body wavered in the darkness in silence, as Dream tried to think of a reasoning for why he was there that made sense. He settled on coming up with an excuse for now, until he figured out for himself why he would do something as abrupt as this. 

“I was just bored. Looking for a little adventure, I guess,” he said, smiling softly. 

George chuckled in the darkness, Dream watching as his hand met with his mouth to cover it. He couldn’t really see his facial expression but assumed his eyes were squinting and his cheeks were a light pink shade. 

“So driving an hour to help someone with their insomnia is exhilarating to you?” George jokes with him. 

Dream can almost hear the smile on his lips, and he himself smiles softly at the thought. 

“I wouldn’t say exhilarating but it’s something to do I guess,” Dream says, trying to downplay the gesture. 

“You could’ve just stayed on call with me though,” George says, his voice sounding quiet. 

“I figured being in person was better. Plus, any excuse to hang out with you is always a good excuse,” Dream admitted. 

The moment those words left his lips, he scolded himself mentally, wondering why he would say something so abrupt like that. It felt weird for him to say something like that. Sure, he loves hanging out with his close friends, but thinking back on it, saying something like that wasn’t something he would typically say to someone like Sapnap even. George was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond. 

“Hm, I don’t know if I could say the same about you,” he joked, to try and lighten the suddenly tense mood. 

“Oh please, you love my company,” Dream poked fun at him. 

“Yeah, sure I do,” George says half-sarcastically, and throws a pillow at Dream. 

Dream catches the pillow and holds it over his head. 

“See now, you’re not gonna get this back,” Dream says, smirking, outstretching his arm higher. 

“Dream!” George whisper-shouts, trying to grab for the pillow. 

He stumbles forward trying to reach for the pillow, sitting on his knees, and Dream only raises his arm higher, now also getting on his knees. 

“Ugh, why are you like this,” George complains, stumbling forward and just barely grabbing the pillow. 

Losing his balance, while his hand is still on the pillow, he drops it and falls forward. The pillow falls behind Dream, as he grabs hold on George’s waist so he doesn’t push him off the bed and fall. George’s face hits Dream’s chest and he mumbles something incoherent, making Dream lose his balance for a second. George pulls back and looks up at Dream, the dim lighting in the room just barely outlining his eyes and the expression they carried. George shifts so he’s sitting on his knees, Dream’s hands slowly coming off his waist. The air was heavy and silent, nothing in the room being heard except for the heat blowing air into the room. Dream was suddenly aware of how warm his sweater was, the way it stuck to his skin and felt as if there was an added weight to it. George’s eyes shifted to the window and then back at Dream, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact as well. 

“You’re really clumsy,” Dream says, but his voice is soft and there’s no joking tone in it this time. 

“I guess I am,” George whispers, folding his hands in his lap. 

Dream was unsure what to make of the situation, but he knew his heart was pounding rather fast within his chest, a warm feeling swelling from the center that for some reason made his entire body uncomfortable. Uneasiness settled within him and his hands were an odd mixture of cold and warmth, being tempted to wipe his palms on the front of his pants, but decided against it for now. He tried reasoning with himself, telling himself he was just nervous because the situation was awkward and nothing else. He didn’t want to face what other reason it could be. George was just a new friend, things were always awkward with new friends. The same question from earlier entered his head again.  _ “So...why’d you come here?” _ Friends help friends, he reasoned.  _ Why should I even care so much? _ Because friends care about each other, he told himself.  _ Yeah, but this much? _ He would think so. He shakes his head and laughs quietly, which gains George’s attention. He tilts his head slightly, and looks at him. 

“Why are you laughing?”   
“ ‘Cause you’re an idiot,” Dream says chuckling between his words. 

“Yeah, I’m the idiot, says the one taking my pillow as a hostage,” George says, rolling his eyes. 

The silence falls again, both of them still wide awake in the darkness. It was becoming easier to see despite the lack of light. Their eyes were adjusting to the dark, and it became less difficult to distinguish facial features when they were close to one another. And considering they were now sat in front of each other, they could practically see one another’s face, but with slightly less defined features. 

“So, strict parents huh?” Dream comments, sitting back against the wall now. 

“Yeah...sort of,” George says, pondering to himself if he should finish the sentence. 

Dream notes how he cuts himself off, but senses there’s more to the situation than he was letting on. 

“Sort of? Did you do something for them to be so strict?” Dream asks shamelessly. 

George shrugs his shoulders. 

“I mean, I used to sneak out at night. Like a lot,” George admits, the tone of his voice expressing little care. 

Dream’s interest was piqued. He hadn’t thought George would be the type to sneak out at night. He looked too...good, to do something like that. 

“Why would you sneak out?” Dream continued. 

“I used to go to like university parties and sneak out with friends to go to places.”  
“You sound like you were so rebellious.”

Dream and George share a light-hearted laugh and George nods his head at the statement. 

“I just had rebellious friends. They would convince me to sneak out, so I would just do it. I had nothing to lose really. Plus, it was fun getting out at night. No one really had to tell me what to do. Until my parents saw my window was open one night and then they checked my room and realized I wasn’t even there,” George explained.

Dream noted that earlier he had something about Dream sneaking out to George’s house being “exhilarating.”  _ ‘I guess sneaking out to college parties is a little more thrill-seeking,’ _ Dream thought to himself. 

“Oh, and what happened after that?” Dream inquired him. 

George shrugged his shoulders again and fiddled with the sheets, acting like he wasn’t paying attention, or at least like the subject didn’t interest him. 

“Well, for starters, I got yelled at, but they were getting ‘tired of my behavior,’” he said bitterly, using his fingers for air quotations around the words, “and since I didn’t have a flat for myself yet, I had no choice but to move to America with them because of a job opportunity my mom had gotten.” 

“So, you kind of just had to up and leave then?” Dream said, his voice sounding sympathetic. 

“It’s not like I left much behind. Besides, they were right. Those friends of mine weren’t really a good influence anyways,” George admits, yawning after his sentence. 

Dream chuckled softly, shaking his head and covering his face. George was confused on why he was laughing, a bit offended by the reaction. Dream found it amusing that George used to  _ actually _ sneak out just to party with people. It sounded so unrealistic to him. He seemed so quiet and reserved, timid even, upon first meeting him. Sure, George had lightened up around him recently, but he still kept a lot to himself. He wondered if he would sit in the corner with a drink in his hand or if he’d actually get up and dance. The thought almost sent him reeling with laughter, but he held a majority of it in. He looked up to see George with a quizzical look on his face, wondering why he was laughing at a story about him being rebellious. 

“I don’t get it, what’s so funny?” George asked. 

“Just...I don’t know. I didn’t think you’d be the type to party,” Dream says, turning to face George now. 

George crosses his arms across his chest and looks away from him. 

“Well, it’s not like I did much anyway. I’d mostly just talk to people,” George said, a tinge of poutiness in his voice

The sound of the heating system in the house buzzes in the room. 

“Hey,” Dream says. 

George looks at him. 

“I must be a bad influence for coming here then, right?” Dream teases him. 

George shoves Dream’s shoulder with his own, “Stop, you’re an idiot.” 

The sound of the heating system cuts out for a moment. Dream watches as George attempts to stay awake, his eyes fluttering shut every now and again. Sitting side by side against the wall closest to the bed, with the light illuminating George’s face, he rubs his eyes in an attempt to stay awake. His head falls a little to the side every so often, and Dream stays quiet, thinking that maybe he’ll fall asleep to just Dream being there. Maybe his presence alone could help him fall asleep. He wouldn’t have to talk. Just be there. 

“What about you?” George asks, despite the tiredness shining in his eyes, and sleepy tone filtering through his voice. 

“What about me?” Dream repeats the question back, playfully scoffing. 

“Do you have any stories?” George asks him, his head coming to rest on Dream’s shoulder. 

Dream doesn’t move a muscle, suddenly his entire body freezing and tensing, then relaxing at the realization that George was just trying to sleep. It would be hard for Dream to keep still while telling a story, since using his hands was something he’d do when he talked about something. He leaned a little closer to George so he was more comfortable resting his head against his shoulder. 

“Uhhhhh, I guess I have this one story,” Dream said, knowing that he had hundreds of stories to tell but couldn’t recollect a vast sum of them within the moment. 

“Mhm,” George murmured. 

Carefully, Dream looked over to see George with his eyes closed, but he knew he wasn’t asleep just yet. 

“So this one time, I met this person,” Dream starts, and George hums in response, “And, I didn’t expect anything to happen with that person. I thought that it would be the first and last time I saw them.” 

Dream knows he’s barely listening. His words are just meant to fill the void of silence and lull him to sleep. He could be saying incoherent words and nonsense things and George wouldn’t be able to tell the difference at this point. Still, Dream went on anyways, knowing that George probably wouldn’t think anything of it the next morning. 

“They needed something and I happily gave it to them, because I thought they seemed very...uh, nice. They were grateful for what I did, but I wanted to talk to them more. For some reason, they were really interesting to me. I don’t know what it was about them. Maybe they were just really pretty, or maybe it’s because I was meant to meet them, but I’m glad I was there that day. I’m glad that I had a lot of college work that day. Otherwise, I probably never would’ve met them. They’re...very attractive. And funny. And kind. I don’t know. Maybe not the best story to tell. Sapnap would definitely be laughing at me right about now about how ridiculous I sound. Sounds like some sappy rom-com, am I ri-?” 

He turned to look at George who had fallen asleep, his lips slightly parted as he breathed softly, and his chest heaved up and down every so often. Dream couldn’t fathom how he’d be comfortable enough to fall asleep in a position like that. But he took note of how George had wrapped his arm around Dream’s to attempt to get comfortable against him. Dream tried biting back a smile, and figured he’d better put him in bed the proper way. Carefully, he moved George’s arm so it was locked around his anymore, and slipped his shoulder away from his head cautiously. He put his arms just by his midsection and laid him down on the bed, then put his sheets over him. He didn’t think he’d fall asleep that fast, but clearly he was wrong. His face was relaxed and his hair was a mess on the pillow. Maybe that story was enough to put him to sleep. It wasn’t an interesting one anyways. Checking the time, Dream saw it was three in the morning. Had he really been here for that long? It felt much shorter. Dream prepared himself for the drive back at three in the morning, knowing that he himself was ready to fall asleep instantly. Pushing his hand through his hair, he popped the window to George’s room open, and climbed out, shutting it before he walked to his car. Dream didn’t want George to get caught with him in his room, so the smartest bet was for Dream to drive back to his house. Was it the safest one given how tired he was? Absolutely not. Despite that, he continued his trek home, the dark night hours enveloping him with music softly playing in the car. 

The next morning - or afternoon rather, since Dream had woken up at 1 in the afternoon - he was bombarded with messages from both Sapnap and George. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I finished this chapter almost a month later, I'm so sorry T-T I will be updating again soon though, don't worry :]

**Author's Note:**

> i'll try to update weekly, if not, biweekly, cuz AP classes are a bit annoying and I need good grades T-T thank you for reading!


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